Fire-escape



(No Model.)

H. BRISTOL.

FIRE ESGAPE.

No. 245,345. Patented Aug. 9,1881

N. PETERS. Hob-Lithograph". Washington. EC.

- NITED STATES PATENT FFIGE.

HENRY BRISTOL, OF WESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

' FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 245,345, dated August 9,1881.

Application filed April 12, 188i. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY BRISTOL, ofVVestville, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Escapes,of which the following is a description.

My invention belongs to that class of fireescapes which are attached tobuildings and furnish means of escape through the windows.

The invention consists in the arrangement of a shaft under the roof andnear the plate, provided with reels on which rope ladders are wound, andill automatic devices for releasing the shaft ill case of fire, ashereinafter more fully set forth.

Ill the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view of the front of abuilding and of the ladders ill front of the windows. Fig. 2 is a viewof the shaft, reels, winding device, and brake; and Fig. 3 is averticalsection, as indicated by the broken line ill Fig. 2.

To enable others to make my improved escape so that it will operate inthe manner contemplated, I will describe it in detail. A, Fig. 2, is aniron shaft, which extends the whole length of the building, and is freeto turn in boxes which are attached to the upper floor. It is placednear the side of the building or plate. On the shaft the reels a arefastened, which equal ill number the windows on one side of a floor of abuilding, and are made with large flanges on their ends, as shown illFig. 2. The brake-wheel bis fastend to the shaft near one of its ends.The bevel-gearv wheel 0 is also fastened to the shaft for the purpose ofturning it.

The shaft (1 is a small rod, and is free to turn ill boxes which arefastened to the upper floor. It has the bevel-gear wheel 0 on one of itsends, which meshes in the wheel a on the shaft A and the winding-crank70 on its other end.

The brake g is a lever of the first kind, and has its short arm fittedto the wheel I). It is pivoted to a stud,the pivot being the fulcrum. Toits long arm the wire 00 is attached, which extends through the rooms ofthe building, or to as many rooms as is desired. The wire is dividedinto pieces, the ends of which are flattened. Holes are made ill theflattened ends, and rivets of all easily-fusible alloy are put throughthem and riveted to form the joints 0. The lower end of the wire isfastened to any convenient part of the building, with sufficient strainon the same to prevent the turning of the shaft A. The spiral spring yis of sufficient strength to raise the longer arm of the brake when thewire 00 is disconnected.

The cylindrical rollers on equal ill number the reels on the shaft A,and the journals on their ends turn in boxes which are attached to thebuilding.

The ladders M are ordinary rope ladders, or the side ropes may he wireropes. Suitable pieces-0t wood or iron are fastened between the sideropes to keep them apart. The upper ends of each ladder pass through theopening a in the covering of the building, and the lower ends of all theladders are fastened to the rod N.

If it is desired to regulate the descent of the ladders, the crank 7c,when the ladders are wound on the reels, may be removed from the shaft dand a fan attached to the shaft in its place.

The escape, being constructed as above described and as shown, operatesas follows: The ladders being wound on the reels and the wire :0 havingits lower'elld fastened to the building, and preventing the turning ofthe shaft A, as soon as the heat of the fire melts the rivets holdingthe wire together,or as soon as the wire is disconnected by any cause,the shaft is released, and the weight of the rod N causes the shaft torevolve and the ladders descend ill front of the windows on the side ofthe building to which the escape is attached.

Having described my improved escape and its mode of operation, what 1claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.-

1. The automatic fire escape herein described, consisting, essentially,of the shaftA, provided with the brake-wheel b, bevel-gear wheel 0, andone or more reels, a, one or more rollers, m, one or more ladders, M,the shaft d, provided with a gear-wheel and crank, k, which areconnected by rivets of an easilythe spiral spring y, the brake g, andwire w, fusible alloy, to release the brake-wheel and divided intopieces, which are connected by shaft, substantially as set forth.

rivets of an easily-fusible alloy, all arranged HENRY BRISTOL. 5 andcombined substantially as set forth. \Vitnesses 2. The spiral spring yand brake g, in com- GEORGE TERRY, bination with the wire IL, dividedinto pieces, HIRAM O. GRAY.

